Jamie Barrow's mum thanks public for 'love and support'

Jamie was missing for just under a fortnight

The mother of a man who was missing for around two weeks has thanked the public for their 'love and support'.

Police confirmed on Saturday they believed the body of a man found in the sea at Ramsey was that of 39-year-old Jamie Barrow.

No formal statement has been released by the constabulary since.

However, in a post on social media, Jamie's mum Valerie Nelson appears to confirm it was indeed her son.

Taking to Facebook, Valerie said she will not see Jamie again "in this lifetime at least" but that she "hold[s] him dear to my heart and always will." 

In an extended post, she said: "After taking a couple of days to digest our tragic news and to try and respond personally to the hundreds of messages I’ve had, I would now like to thank the residents of the Island and further afield for their love help and outstanding support given to me and my family during the last fortnight. 

"The care and attention given by police across the Island and especially Ramsey Police Station was remarkable and I would personally like to thank all the officers involved but special thanks to Neil Edwards, our family liaison officer who was assigned by Sgt Steve Gadman who was my initial contact and remained throughout, the superintendent who walked miles to Laxey and back, also to Pam who coordinated all of the services and agencies in the search for my son. 

"This includes the lifeboat’s search and rescue, the dog search teams, the Civil Defence, the fire and rescue service, the divers and drone searchers and I’m sure a lot more I’ve [yet] to find out about and will."

She also offered her thanks to the general public, 'for taking this tragic event into their hearts and sending us messages of love and support. This Island community stands together in such times and is overwhelming.'